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E cho spun to face Diego, anger mounting again.

“You knew who he was and hadn’t bothered asking about his brother?” Diego asked.

“It came up…”

Diego’s eyes widened. “It came up…? That’s it?” He shook his head. “If you slept with him without asking the hard questions I’m more concerned about you than I was ten minutes ago. You’re too smart to be this dumb, Echo.”

“Dumb?”

Diego sighed. “Even the best of us makes stupid choices on occasion. You… are the best of us, Echo. Think about what you’re doing here.”

“I am thinking. I can’t do anything but think.” Echo released a shaky breath, fearful Mael would overhear them argue. “I know this isn’t going to be easy. I have concerns about him and what a future together might look like. The pod isn’t going to be on our side. Once they find out who he is, it’ll only get worse. No matter what we tell them about the fight with his brother, the rumor is still out there. He’s a monster in their eyes.”

“He might still be that monster. We don’t know if that’s what really happened.”

Echo frowned. “You couldn’t feel his pain? I sure as hell did.”

“You’re in the I’ve-just-been-fucked afterglow. The rose-colored glasses are in full effect.”

Echo took a step back. He’d seen the look in Maelstrom’s eyes. There had been anguish there. “Why are you being such a hardass?”

“Because I don’t want you hurt,” Diego said. “You’re my best friend, and that man is a predator who’s already destroyed multiple lives. He’s the one who left Pete scarred and broken. Did you ask him about that?”

“No,” Echo whispered. He’d forgotten about Pete in the chaos of the night before. He’d forgotten a lot of things. He’d been fully focused on what he felt.

“I don’t want you to be the next person he destroys, Echo.” Diego winced. “Mate or not, I need you to keep your eyes and ears open—and pay attention.” Tears shone in Diego’s eyes. “I don’t want to lose you. Promise me you’ll keep both feet on the ground and use that big, analytical brain I know you have.”

Echo held Diego’s gaze. He nodded. “I’ll pay attention. I promise.”

Diego let out a long, slow breath. “Look, if it means anything, he’s either an incredible actor or we got his story wrong. I’m leaning slightly toward we got it wrong.” He lifted a hand to stop Echo from interrupting. “But psychopaths are amazing actors—and the things we’ve heard about Maelstrom Marino sound like psychopathy to me—so I’m reserving judgment.”

“I think it might be a bit premature to label him a psychopath.”

“When I rounded that corner last night and saw him pinning you to the wall, I was terrified. You didn’t see what I saw. I saw fear in your eyes. That’s why I went on the offensive. I was trying to protect you.” Diego shook his head. “I couldn’t understand why you got so mad at me last night and, to be honest, it pissed me off. I didn’t want to be pissed at you, so I came to talk it out—to understand—but there he was again. He’s digging his claws into you.”

“I wish you’d give me just a little credit. I told you I could handle him.”

Diego paused, searching his face. “But can you?”

Echo wasn’t sure, but he needed Diego to back up and let him breathe. “Yes.”

“The fact remains that the rest of the pod isn’t going to like this, even if we find out he’s not quite the beast we thought he was.” Diego’s frown deepened. “And what’s this investigation you’re doing?” He rolled his eyes. “Is that code for fucking?”

“It’s not that…” He froze, his secret still hidden—but plausible deniability was likely well past considering Diego knew about Maelstrom. “Mael and I met… when I crossed into orca territory.”

Diego’s jaw went slack. “This just keeps getting better and better.” He sighed. “Why, pray tell, did you break the treaty?”

“Wait here,” Echo said before he marched into the foyer. He fished his grandfather’s journal and a copy of a bathymetric map from his backpack and returned with it. Opening to the pages in question, he handed the book over to Diego.

Diego took it from him and glanced down. Echo leaned against the kitchen counter, waiting for him to finish. Diego’s brows continued to come together as his stare moved down the page.

Before Diego finished, Mael came marching— and creaking —down the stairs. He slipped into the kitchen in his leather jacket and jeans, sans shirt, carrying a motorcycle helmet in one hand. Echo hadn’t noticed a motorcycle nearby the night before.

Mael rode a motorcycle? Another check on his ever-growing bad boy list.

Fuck, he’s so hot.

Echo froze, seeing just how right Diego was. His brain turned off and his dick turned on the second he took one look at Maelstrom. He needed to keep his wits about himself.

Mael glared at Diego, who was nose deep in the journal, and then leaned in toward Echo for a kiss. Echo closed his eyes, enjoying the kiss—but trying to keep up some semblance of control.

Mael searched his face, a hint of a frown showing before it was gone. “Tomorrow afternoon.”

“I’ll be there, right on the line.” He grinned, but there was only so much joy in it. He didn’t want Mael to go. Yet he did, too. He needed air and space to think. “Oh, when you came down this morning, I didn’t hear the stairs creak, but they did when you went up and back down.”

“I slid down the banister earlier,” Mael said with a grin. “So I could sneak up on you.”

“Lucky that held your weight,” Echo said. “That whole thing needs to be replaced.”

“I’m aware,” Mael said, one brow rising. He pressed a kiss to Echo’s lips before peeking at Diego. “See ya round, Diego.” He gave Echo another quick kiss. “Bye.”

“Bye,” Echo said.

“Bye,” Diego repeated, still nose-deep in the book. He lifted his gaze as Mael headed for the door. He spoke to Mael’s retreating back. “I still have concerns about this relationship of yours.”

Without turning, Mael waved at Diego over his shoulder and closed the door. Diego returned to the journal with a huff. Echo wandered closer to the back door and watched Mael start his motorcycle—one of those sporty crotch rockets. It was all black, which seemed fitting.

He chuckled, realizing that Mael was likely the guy on the motorcycle who’d blown through the intersection and cut him off. The vibrations from the engine shook the whole house. Mael waved and offered a tired smile before he pulled on his helmet and zoomed off in a flash.

“Echo, wouldn’t the elders know if this place existed?”

Echo turned away from the door. “One would assume but there’s a lot of things we don’t know that we should.”

“Like what?”

“Well, for one, what started the war between dolphins and orca?” Echo had asked multiple times and multiple people over the years, and he’d never gotten a straight answer. He’d barely gotten an answer at all. Most had pushed his questions aside and demanded he accept that it was what it was.

“Point taken,” Diego said. “But we both know your grandfather was… known… for his tall tales.”

Echo walked over and unfurled the bathymetric map. “Compare his map to this one. It’s nearly a complete match. How else would he be able to detail the topography? He’s been there.”

“The treaty was signed when he was probably in his twenties or thirties. He could’ve easily gone into that area before it was off-limits to us.”

“It’s not just this one though,” Echo said. “I’ve researched all of his maps in that journal. They’re from all around the world. I’ve been able to match most of them to the places he claimed they were. They’re almost perfect.”

“Bathymetric maps have been around for ages. He could’ve gotten his hands on some and used them for these sketches.”

“Modern bathymetric maps, with data this accurate, weren’t available to anyone outside the military until the late seventies. He had his adventures before he settled down with my grandmother,” Echo said. “In the fifties.” He pointed to the journal. “The one here—in orca waters—he wasn’t even a member of this pod when he sketched that.”

Diego frowned. “Wait—what do you mean he wasn’t a member of the pod?”

“He, my grandmother, and my mother were exiled from their former pod. My mother was young. He remembered how nice and welcoming folks were here from his travels, so they came here and asked to join this pod.”

“Oh,” Diego said. “Why were they exiled?”

“Another straight answer I never got.”

Diego’s brows furrowed. He shook his head and turned back to the maps. “Well, if he drew this in the fifties, bathymetric maps were much less detailed,” Diego murmured, eyeing the two maps side by side. He placed the modern one on top of the sketch and lifted the page to the light. “There’s no way he could’ve used those old maps and been this accurate.”

“All of his maps are this accurate. Which leads me to believe he really did travel to all these places. If he was there, then his tales might not have been so tall after all.” Echo waved to the journal. “The cave he mentioned was the closest one to test my theory. I didn’t have to leave home to find it. If I could prove it was real, I’d show the pod he wasn’t lying and he wasn’t insane.” He cringed. “I loved those old stories when I was a kid, but then I grew up and I heard what people said about him. Even his daughter— my mother —called him an old fool. I stopped believing in him.” Pain struck Echo’s chest. “He died with no one believing in him.” Echo fought a wave of grief threatening to knock him to his knees. “I found his journals when we cleared out his house, and I read them. Nostalgia, maybe. Grief. I don’t know. But there was something in his words that rung true and when I compared his maps to real ones, I got the feeling he’d been right all along. But I wanted proof.”

“So you crossed into enemy territory and Maelstrom Marino, of all orcas, caught you.”

“Actually, a couple of great whites caught me,” Echo said. He lifted his foot to show off the fading scar still barely visible. “One bit my fluke and dragged me down. I ran out of air. I was sure I was going to drown.”

Diego’s eyes widened.

“Mael fought them off so I could get away,” Echo said. “He saved my life.”

Diego eyed him, silent.

“He came to the bar last night to find me—and find out why I’d crossed into orca territory. I’d broken the treaty. He had every right to be angry with me.”

“So all of this just happened? You learned you were mates last night?”

Echo nodded.

“You two looked awful chummy for only having shared one night together.” Diego frowned. “Why didn’t you just tell me that he was your mate last night?”

“I didn’t realize it yet.”

Diego scoffed. “If he was your mate, you would’ve known it immediately.”

“I felt something, but I was terrified of him. As you said, he’s a predator. My fear likely overpowered anything else I felt.”

Diego frowned but said nothing.

“After he saved me, I jumped in my boat and got the fuck out of there. I knew I’d broken the treaty, and I might’ve started a war amongst our pods. When he showed up at the bar, I assumed I was about to be held responsible for what I’d done by an orca I’d watched kill a great white the night before.”

“He took down a great white… alone?”

Echo nodded. “Eviscerated it with ease. Cut its liver out and ate it while the other one swam for its life.”

“Damn,” Diego said. “I’ve heard reports of lone orcas attacking and killing great whites, but I didn’t believe it was possible. Clearly it is.”

“Even in my terror, somewhere deep in my mind, I sensed an attraction. I wanted him… and I couldn’t understand why I wanted him. Then you jumped in and…”

“I cockblocked you.”

Echo chuckled. “I wasn’t angry at you, not really. I was overwhelmed and confused. I was upset our conversation was interrupted before I could see where it led.” Echo lowered his shoulders. “Thankfully, he was here when I got home, and we talked more.”

Diego eyed Mael’s shirt. “And obviously did more than talk.”

Heat warmed Echo’s cheeks.

Diego closed the journal and handed it back. “What happens now?”

“With which part?”

“The cave? Any of it, really,” Diego replied.

“Mael has offered to escort me back and help me search. That’s the investigation he mentioned. He’s getting scuba gear together, and we’re going for a dive.”

“Scuba? Why not shift?”

“Where it’s at, it’s deep enough that it takes nearly five minutes to get to the bottom of the sea bed. I can only hold my breath for about twenty, so that only gives me ten minutes to search before I have to race back up to the top. I had to keep re-surfacing over and over,” Echo said. “Using scuba gear, we could stay down for longer periods and perform a more thorough search.”

“True,” Diego said. “Do you need— or want —company? I could stay on the boat and use the maps to help direct you.”

Echo smiled. “And have us both break the treaty?”

“I just want to make sure you’re safe out there. Plus, if you’ve been invited by Maelstrom, you’re not breaking anything. He’s the matriarch’s eldest, and I hear he’s her enforcer.”

“You make him sound like a mafioso or a ki?—”

One of Diego’s brows rose. “A killer?”

“Don’t call him that,” Echo murmured.

“We already know of two kills he’s definitely made, and there are likely more. They don’t call them killer whales for nothing, you know?”

“The two we know about were to save his mother—and to save me.”

“Maybe.” Diego sighed. “I just don’t want you to forget who he is. A highly intelligent predator. Until you know him better, you don’t know for sure you’re safe with him. It’s been one night, Echo. Don’t fall into a trap.”

Echo sensed he could trust Mael, especially after hearing him speak his version of events, but Diego was right. It had only been one night. He didn’t know Maelstrom Marino at all. “Will you play nice if I let you come?”

Diego crossed his arms over his chest. “I can try, but I make no promises.”

“Try really hard,” Echo said. “I don’t need the whole day to turn adversarial.”

Diego nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Meet me at my slip at one,” Echo said.

“Need me to bring anything?”

“Just yourself.” Echo suddenly realized he had no boat. “Fuck … can we use your boat? I can pay for the gas.”

“What’s wrong with yours?”

“Little mishap coming into the harbor. Hank’s fixing it,” Echo said.

“Yeah, fine,” Diego mumbled before heading out the back door.

Echo locked it and scanned the kitchen. He was used to being home alone, but for some reason, it felt off. A part of him wished Mael hadn’t left, but Echo also understood the need for quiet to calm a raging mind. He needed that himself after the past couple of days.

Tilly appeared, meowling loudly.

“Where have you been, fur nugget?” Echo asked, giving her head a scratch. “Were you hiding from the big, bad orca?”

Tilly meowled again.

“I suppose you want food, hmm?”

After giving Tilly a little more love, Echo grabbed his backpack and marched upstairs to get dressed. When he walked into his bedroom, he froze. A smile came to his lips. The bed was made. His clothes from the night before were folded and stacked at the end of his bed. And there was a note. He walked closer and lifted it, laying his backpack at the foot of his bed.

Can’t wait to see you tomorrow.

XO

-Mael

I’m 960-224-3125, btw

Echo stared at the note, smiling to himself. War waged within him. He still had doubts, but everything in him told him Mael wasn’t the monster they’d made him out to be. He’d been a kind, considerate lover—when it had counted most. He’d accepted Echo’s uniqueness and even exposed his own. He made Echo feel alive, truly alive, for the first time in his life.

Maybe he was still looking through those rose-colored glasses, but he wanted to believe that there was good in his mate. That there might be a chance for them.

He fished his cell out of his backpack and entered the number—and then shot off a quick text.

Echo

Do you do windows, too? See you tomorrow!